Extra Extra - Snooker
Strike action in the USA, the World Snooker Championship, film, music and art
Good day dear readers!
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) East & West are officially on strike in the USA. As of now any scripted live shows (such as The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, etc) are off the air, and screenwriters working on a film/TV show are no longer on the clock. Picketing of studios and locations in LA and NYC begin this afternoon. Writers can’t even take meetings or have work optioned (the exact rules are detailed here).
Interestingly, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) has a no-strike clause in their contract, so while individual directors can’t be forced to work, they can be fired for refusing to cross a picket line to get to their job. However, the DGA’s contract is up for negotiation with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) this month, and if that doesn’t go well the DGA could go into strike action by the beginning of next month. They are largely in favour of this stoppage, so that does not bode well for negotiations.
I’m a member of the Writers Guild of Ireland (WGI) and the Horror Writers Association (HWA), and I worked for the WGI as a content manager/newsletter editor until a few years ago. I’m familiar with the essential work that goes on behind the scenes at writers’ guilds/unions, and the constant back-and-forth between writers’ representatives and their antagonists — usually whatever group negotiates on behalf of the producers — which is the AMPTP in America.
Writing is fast becoming a career for hobbyists because it’s so difficult to make a living from it. Most writers are doing multiple gigs for a variety of markets, and the dirty secret is that many depend on the kindness of spouses. In the past screenwriters in the USA could make a decent living (which is almost impossible in Ireland) but all of that is in jeopardy thanks to changing pay deals, adjustments to writer’s rooms, and the rise of streaming services. The WGA is pre-emptively requesting that writers are protected from AI encroachment, which will be an issue before long.
I was confident this ‘negotiation’ would end up in a strike action since I observed all the same tactics in the run-up to the strike of 2007-2008: the AMPTP claiming it was trying to cut a deal while ignoring key demands and expecting the writers to choke at the last minute. Check out the Twitter thread by writer Adam Conover as he documents the lack of engagement on issues by the AMPTP.
Since we’re in an era of content expansion it should be a marvellous time to be a writer, but the reverse is the case. Writers are expected to do more for less, with little benefit accruing to them from the success of their material. The entertainment business is restructuring at the moment because it’s making less profit (this remains a profitable enterprise), not that it’s in financial freefall, and this is partly due to overspend and the knock-on effects of COVID. Let’s have a look at how some of the studios are faring:
Here is the WGA’s information on current predictions for the market:
All subscription streaming services are now offering tiers with commercials, a shift projected to add $13 billion in revenue by 2025. Services are also raising subscription prices which, coupled with subscriber growth, is projected to increase domestic streaming revenues by another $7 billion by 2025. These developments will chart the companies’ path to profitability in streaming. Disney and Warner are projecting profits from their streaming services in 2024 or 2025. Netflix reported $6 billion in operating profits in 2021 and $5.6 billion in 2022, demonstrating how lucrative the streaming market can be. Warner Bros. Discovery was even recently named Goldman Sachs’ “favorite media stock” for 2023.
International Guilds have come out in support of the strike, including the WGI, which went on record saying: ‘Should a strike be called by the WGA, in line with our IAWG agreements, we will encourage all WGI members not to work on projects that are subject to any WGA strike action.’
This is not going to be an easy struggle, and it will impact people all across the industry, but it is an pivotal moment in the entertainment world, and one that requires determination and collective action to survive.
World Snooker Championship
What on earth is Maura doing writing about the recent World Snooker Championship you might ask, because I’m rather amazed I’m discussing it!
When I was growing up my parents owned a pub with an arcade, pool tables, and snooker tables. So snooker was a part of my everyday reality. I knew all about the snooker scoring system, the various leagues, matches and even the maintenance and care of snooker tables. The World Championship was a big deal, and everyone watched it. I’ve never been interested in snooker since I became an adult, since it was a bit of a forced diet back in the day.
Yet, I can appreciate the skill required for these exacting matches. The tiniest of extra pressure on a shot can cause an opening your rival is guaranteed to exploit. Plus, these are events with a live audience. That brings another layer of tension to a game that requires intense focus. The gods of the snooker table are fickle: you can end up stuck on your bum watching your opponent relentlessly clearing the table over multiple frames.
Flashback to last Friday. Martin and I were on a short trip in Donegal, we’d eaten early, and went to a venue in Letterkenny for a cocktail — in this establishment there were screens displaying sports, but it was quiet so we decided to stay. Anyone who knows Martin and I will be astonished by all these details, because we’re not the type that pop down to the local for a drink, and definitely not at a sports bar. Yet when you’re on holiday you do things differently, and this led us to seeing part of the semi-final between Luca Brecel (Belgium, aged 28) and Si Jiahui (China, aged 20). It was a scintillating display of some of the best snooker I’d witnessed. I’d forgotten that Martin played pool and snooker when he was a teenager, so we ended up having an engaging conversation over a couple of swell drinks.
It rekindled our interest in the game so we decided to watch some of the snooker matches over the following days. The final is a gruelling best out of 35 frames, which happens over four sessions spread across two days. This year’s final was a closely fought battle between four-time champion Mark Selby and Brecel. I was fortunate to tune in and watch Selby get a perfect 147 score — it’s hard to explain, if you’re unfamiliar with the game, how astonishing this is.
If you watch the frame you’ll see how excited everyone is for Selby. Even Luca and the referee are delighted, that’s because it’s such a rarity, especially in a final.
Brecel emerged as a worthy champion in the end. At one point during a frame the referee asked whoever was rustling a sweet wrapper to desist — that’s how quiet it was during shots.
Quick as a whip, Martin said, ‘We need this guy in the cinema!’
Miscellaneous
I won free tickets to Evil Dead Rise at the Pálás Cinema in Galway. It’s a full-on gore-fest, but scenes are tight and smart, and at 90 minutes it doesn’t overstay. Once you know what’s on offer you can settle in and watch the inventive eviscerations. Evil Dead purists might not like it, but I thought Irish writer/director Lee Cronin pulled off this latest instalment in the franchise with punchy flair.
I attended a couple of sessions at the SOUND! festival in Letterkenny last weekend, which is a brand-new festival in Ireland, celebrating the art of music and sound in film. I though it was a brilliant idea for a festival, and since I write while listening to soundtracks all the time I was interested in sampling some sessions. I went to the screening of the black and white silent classic, Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror (1922), with a live score performed and composed by Belfast-based musical ensemble Documenta. I also sat in on an excellent discussion with author Sinead Gleeson and filmmaker Derek O’Connor about composer/innovator Wendy Carlos, which was a revelation. Here’s a photo of me holding the iconic 1968 album, Switched-On Bach, 'the album is a collection of pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach performed by Wendy Carlos and Benjamin Folkman on a Moog synthesizer.' Carlos was a trailblazer of synthesizer soundtracks, and composed for A Clockwork Orange (1971), The Shining (1980), and Tron (1982).
I was so pleased to catch up with my old pal Tim Stampton at his home in the very top of Ireland, near Malin Head in Co. Donegal. Tim runs Ballagh Studio with his wife, and fellow artist, Ros Harvey. They are artists in the truest sense, for they create work in many media, have their own gallery, printing studio and even frame their own work. During lockdown Tim taught himself how to bind books! It was so wonderful to sit in such a beautiful space in a gorgeous part of the world and talk about art and creativity. If you’re ever up in that part of the world then drop by and buy some of their incredible work.
I hope you’re all enjoying a mellow May so far!
Plus, stay strong, American writers!
Extra Extra - Snooker
Thanks for the stack! ❤️